Life begins at 40: How Brits are 19 YEARS behind on life goals to marry, own a home and start a family

Life begins at 40: How Brits are 19 YEARS behind on life goals to marry, own a home and start a family

|

UPDATED:

17:15 GMT, 27 March 2012

Homeowner Married With children If you're a Brit under the age of 30 reading this, then chances are the answer to all three is a resounding no.

For a new survey has discovered that the average British adult is 19 years behind schedule with their 'life plan'.

Despite hopes of being settled down by the age of 28, researchers found millions of people are now in their late thirties and early forties before they have reached significant milestones such as owning a house, getting married and starting a family.

Missed milestone: Many Brits are failing to tie the knot by their target age of 28 (posed by models)

The study revealed the average person expects to move out of their parents' house by the tender age of 22 – but in fact 13 per cent of adults are still living with mum and dad at age 40.

And while many hope to meet their ideal partner by 25, 33 per cent are still looking for love 15 years later.

Similarly, the average youth had aspirations of earning more than 30,000 a year by the time they reached 31, but for 71 per cent this dream has yet to become a reality.

Tracy Fletcher, spokeswoman for Skipton Building Society, which commissioned the study, said: 'When you are growing up, you have very set ideas about when you will have that big white wedding, be carried over the threshold of your brand new house and cradle your first child in your arms.

'Unfortunately, the survey shows that, while the majority of people hope to have achieved most of their goals in their twenties, it is more likely to be late thirties or early forties before many are accomplished.'

A third of people said it was the state of the economy that was preventing them from achieving their life goals with high property prices and a lack of home loans partly responsible for their inability to get on the property ladder.

Dream home: But becoming a home owner remains out of reach for many Brits in their twenties because of rising house prices

While most adults hope to become the proud owners of a house by age 27, 32 per cent are still renting well into their 40s.

Owning car is also out of reach for 24 per cent who have failed to buy their own motor by the target age of 21 and even a full time job proves elusive for 13 per cent of adults polled.

In terms of love, marriage remains a priority on many people's wish lists – with 28 perceived as the ideal age to tie the knot – but 48 per cent are still officially single by the time they turn 40.

Most said they hoped to start a family by 28, but 38 per cent are unlikely to have done so by the time they are in their late thirties.

Even aspirations for starting a pension and writing a will have changed over the years.

Most people expected to have a pension in place by the age of 28 and a will written for their loved ones by the age of 33.

In fact, 47 per cent of those polled have no pension at all, and 77 per cent haven't even considered writing a will.

Fletcher added that while people may not be able to plan when they'll fall in love and conceive, they can achieve other goals by taking control of their finances.

'Everyone's feeling the squeeze at the moment, with money having to stretch further and our cost of living increasing. However, despite this, our findings demonstrate that people's life aspirations have remained static.

'No-one can really predict when they will fall in love, get married or have kids. But you can make a conscious choice to organise your finances, to ensure that, whatever opportunities life throws your way, you're in the best possible position to grasp them.'